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Homosexuality In Chicago

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In the early 1970s, the Chicago Sun Times reportedly called the first gay pride parade “…just a bold but loosely organized stream of activist and drag queens who marched along the sidewalk …shouting and vamping for gay rights.” This statement reflected society’s view of homosexuals as "drag queens", a term traditionally used to imply a male who acts with exaggerated femininity. While “drag” is commonly associated with homosexual males, those who participate in drag actually vary in gender, class, culture, motivation, and sexual orientation. Disdain with the minimization of homosexual identity and demand for equal rights the University of Chicago Gay Liberation Front sought to take action to debunk and rid stereotypes of homosexual selfhood. …show more content…

Wiemhoff and other gay activist created the Chicago Gay Liberation Front which had many local activities to help gays including hosting small dances and mixers for same-sex couples on The University of Chicago campus, which had over two thousand participants by the time of their last dance. Wiemhoff, students, and graduates of The University of Chicago disrupted the 1970s Chicago meeting of the AMA (American Medical Association) which sought to distribute pamphlets that declared homosexuals "unhealthy". Wiemhoff’s group wanted to challenged the common belief at the time among most doctors and psychiatrists that homosexuals were emotionally and psychologically ill and needed treatment. Wiemhoff and other activist protesters eventually led to the de-stigmatization of gays and lesbians in the American Medical Association, by 1973 the AMA withdrawn their claims . Henry Wiemhoff and the other gay activist felt like the AMA weren’t depicting the truth about homosexuals so they took a stand against them. Furthermore doctors and psychologist at the time believed that gays were mentally and or physically sick and needed treatment. Less than a year later the AMA made it so the world would know that their accusations were …show more content…

The University of Chicago Gay Liberation Front has made a lasting impact on Chicago since its creation in 1970. Chicago Gay Liberation, the group The University of Chicago transformed into, is still here today. Thanks to the Chicago Gay Liberation and other groups and activist Chicago has a Gay Pride Parade annually to support the LGBTQ community. Also the University of Chicago has sixty annual events for their students and alumni to support LGBTQ students on campus; which has approximately two thousand participants each year. OutLaw, a law group that formed from Chicago Gay Liberation, has been open for almost 31 years. There is an Office of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer which main purpose is to create a safe community for LGBTQ students and

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Additionally, the 519 refugee program served more than 5,300 queer refugees by acquiring support from The City of Toronto, RBC and Asian AIDS Prevention. While in the 90’s they help conduct protest of over 10,000 people to concur bill 167; same-sex couples to receive equal rights as “common law” couples. Current statues They don’t have

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These efforts were rewarded in the sense that because lesbians were seen as having done a “good work” Homophobic fears began to subside within the ranks of women. Lesbians gained I respect they had not enjoyed before as heterosexual activist chain to appreciate their arguments and saw for themselves how lesbian baiting have been used to stifle the female self-assertion. Because of the growing women's movement in the early 1970s Congress was forced to passed more legislation for women's rights than ever before or since. Document 13 illustrates

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This led to the church becoming angry with men and women that were gay or lesbian so they wanted to express their opinions. When a soldier died in the line of duty they had their chance knowing the strict military policy of homosexuals. The group decided to then go on and show up at the funeral of Matthew Snyder and protest expressing their opinions of how gays are evil. Society did not like this because they believed it was a time for mourning, not an opportunity and even though you have freedom of speech does not mean you have to say anything. It was a very low blow to the family and others it was believed to be just outright wrong and evil don't say anything if you have nothing nice to say.

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“A group of people decided they’d had enough. They took a stand and in doing so began the New York Gay Activist movement. Which eventually spread to other parts of the country…. I very much doubt they know the impact of their decision to stand firm that day in 1969, but it’s because of those people that gay rights exist in this country today,” Lynley Wayne, LGBT Writer. Everyday people are trying to stand up for themselves.

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Marsha P. Johnson was a Black actress, drag queen, sex worker, and trans woman who lived from June 27, 1944 to July 6, 1992 (Born; Parker; Pay It No Mind). She is best remembered for being at the center of the 1969 Stonewall Riots (Tungol). In fact, some claim that she started these riots on June 28, 1969 after racist and homophobic police officers raided The Stonewall Inn, a known gay club in New York City’s Greenwich Village (Born; Gossett). Additionally, with the support of Sylvia Rivera, who she was mentoring at the time, she founded the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR) in 1970, which provided a safe space for homeless transgender teens and drag queens and advocated for the inclusion of transgender rights in the gay rights

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1930 Words | 8 Pages

The stonewall riots had a moderate impact on the political and social landscape of America. Historical evidence exhibits that although the stonewall uprising did not change the trajectory of gay rights, it acted as a catalyst for de-stigmatization of LGBTQ+ members. The Stonewall uprising was a 6 day political protest and riot in response to the highly restrictive laws and policies promoting homophobia within America. With politicians and laws promoting homophobia within America from 1950 to 1969, systematic oppression forced queer persons to the outskirts of society. Subsequently, underground organizations became affiliated with queer communities to provide spaces to be openly gay.

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“The Gay Liberation Youth Movement in New York: "An Army of Lovers Cannot Fail" : Stephan Cohen : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming.” Internet Archive, 14 August 2019, https://archive.org/details/cohen-gylib. Accessed 23 March 2023. K, Kristi. “Something Like A Super Lesbian: Stormé DeLarverie (In Memoriam).”

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The AID’s epidemic began in 1981 and started with five young, previously healthy gay men in Los Angeles, and from there on the disease spread, causing hundreds of thousands of deaths. This crisis mainly happened amongst the LGBTA+ community, as the main recipients of AID’s were gay and bisexual men. This crisis sparked the Gay Right’s movement, increasing the demand for a higher education of STD’s and forcing the conservative government of the time to recognize organisations they had previously ignored. This is why this issue should be included in the time capsule. The disease caused global panic amongst Gen X, causing the field of medicine to advance and sparked a movement that is still prevalent in this day and age It was a major event in that generation that is still remembered, mourned and fought

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During the 1950s and 60s, society looked down on homosexuality. The general public opinion was that homosexuality was something to be ashamed of and threatening to wholesome family values. In a 1967 CBS News documentary called “The Homosexuals”, anchor Mike Wallace said, “In preparing this broadcast, CBS News commissioned a survey by the Opinion Research Corporation into public attitudes about homosexuality. We discovered that Americans consider homosexuality more harmful to society than adultery, abortion, or prostitution.”

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In 1975, Elaine Noble was elected to the House of Representatives in Massachusetts, allowing her to be the “first openly lesbian or gay state legislator in U.S. history”. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 which “forbids discrimination based on ‘race, color, religion, sex [or] national origin’ - targeted discrimination based on actual or perceived sexual orientation” caused nondiscrimination bills called “‘gay rights bills’” to be around. Not only that, many liberal universities passed laws that also aligned with and supported the LGBT community. The expansion of the queer

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When thinking about one of the key trigger moments that set-in motion the LGBT movement against the oppression and police brutality, the Stonewall Riots of 1969 is a moment that might come to mind for most people. However, three years prior there was a similar moment that has gone under the radar for the most part. Despite its unspoken history, this event has played an essential role in the burgeoning LGBTQ movement in San Francisco. This moment in time was the Compton Cafeteria Riot in August of 1966. This took place in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco.

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104 Words | 1 Pages

Overall all of these things were done in an effort to raise awareness about how devastating this outbreak was to the gay community as a whole during this time period.

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THE STONEWALL RIOTS The Stonewall riots are widely believed to be the single most important event leading to the gay liberation movement and the modern fight for LGBT rights in the United States. Considered by some to be the "Rosa Parks" moment of the gay rights movement in America, the riots were a series of spontaneous, violent demonstrations against a police raid of the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, New York, in the early hours of June 28th, 1969. This single event has left a resounding impact on the fight for LGBT rights that can still be seen today. Throughout the 50s and 60s in the United States, the FBI along with local police departments kept close watch on what they believed to be "homosexual activity".

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“The first step ― which usually lasted six months ― [is] where they “deconstruct us as a person.” Their tactics still haunt me. Aversion therapy, shock therapy, harassment and occasional physical abuse. Their goal was to get us to hate ourselves for being LGBTQ (most of us were gay, but the entire spectrum was represented), and they knew what they were doing....”

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Substitute the word “gay” in any of those cases, and the terms suddenly become far less loaded, so that the ring of disapproval and judgment evaporates. Some gay rights advocates have declared the term off limits. The Gay and Lesbian Alliance against slander, or Glad, has put “homosexual” on its list of offensive terms and in 2006 persuaded The Associated Press, whose stylebook is the widely used by many news organizations, to restrict use of the word. Miss Suhashini a, lecturer of Phycology Department at UTAR who was currently doing research about LGBT has looked at the way the term is used by those who try to portray gays and lesbians as deviant. What is most telling about substituting it for gay or lesbian are the images that homosexual tends to activate in the brain, she said.

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